Spanish policemen face prison for 'torturing' two Britons in Majorca

Four members of Spain's Civil Guard face a combined 26 years in jail for
allegedly assaulting tourists after they were arrested for fighting on the
island

File photo of Spainish Civil GuardsPhoto: Rex

By Fred Nathan

5:51PM BST 15 Apr 2014

Four members of the Spanish police are on trial facing long prison sentences for allegedly torturing two British holidaymakers while in custody.

Public prosecutors in Majorca are pressing for a combined 26 year sentence for a captain and three officers of Spain’s Civil Guard who are said to have intimidated and brutally attacked the two detainees in 2009.

The two Brits were arrested after a pub brawl on the Balearic island during which one of them allegedly knocked out the off-duty sergeant, Spain's El País newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Once taken back to the custody suite, prosecutors say the three men under his command, and the sergeant himself then intimidated and brutally attacked the detainees.

The Brits were then purportedly beaten with a truncheon and bare fists and were also humiliated. Both sustained arm fractures, bruising and facial injures and had to be taken to hospital twice during the night of their arrest.

The sergeant is also accused of psychological torture, allegedly staring at one of the captive men inside the cell until he left him ‘in a state of panic’.

Yet the Civil Guard captain denied his officers had inflected the injuries and argued they had been caused by other officers during the men's arrest, or were self-inflicted.

He claimed that one of the detainees had hurt themselves inside their cell and during their arrest. He added that one of the men momentarily escaped from the patrol car while in handcuffs, and fell and hit his face.

But internal investigators rejected this version of events, saying the injuries sustained had been too severe.

The defence is denying the assertions, noting that both the men were absent from court and claiming that one of them is a known drug trafficker who knew he was under investigation.

The Civil Guards also filed their own complaint against the Brits, who were found guilty of assault and disobedience.

The captain is now facing 11 years in prison while the three officers under his command each facing sentences of five years.

One of the Brits continued to suffer psychological problems in the wake of the incident, a psychotherapist told the court.

Majorca prosecutor Julio Cano said: “Trust in the right to a defence is abolished if one cannot trust in the actions of the police.”